Selection of Circuit Breaker:
There are two types of Selection of Circuit Breaker ratings which
require the computation of SC current are: (i) rated momentary
current and (ii) rated symmetrical interrupting current.
Symmetrical SC current is obtained by using subtransient
reactances for synchronous machines. Momentary current (rms) is
then calculated by multiplying the symmetrical momentary current
by a factor of 1.6 to account for the presence of DC off-set current.
Symmetrical current to be interrupted is computed by using
subtransient reactances for synchronous generators and transient
reactances for synchronous motors induction motors are neglected.
The DC off-set value to be added to obtain the current to be
interrupted is accounted for by multiplying the symmetrical SC
current by a factor as tabulated below:
If SC MVA (explained below) is more than 500, the above multiplying
factors are increased by 0.1 each. The multiplying factor for air
breakers rated 600 V or lower is 1.25.
The current that a circuit breaker can interrupt is inversely
proportional to the operating voltage over a certain range, i.e.
Amperes at operating voltage = amperes at rated voltage x
rated voltage/operating voltage
Of course, operating voltage cannot exceed the maximum design
value. Also, no matter how low the voltage is, the rated interrupting
current cannot exceed the rated maximum interrupting current.
Over this range of voltages, the product of operating voltage and
interrupting current is constant. It is therefore logical as well as
convenient to express the Selection of Circuit Breaker rating in
terms of SC MVA that can be interrupted, defined as
Rated interrupting MVA (three-phase) capacity = √3 |V(line)|
rated x |I(line)|rated interrupting current
where
V(line) is in kV and
I (line) is kA.
Thus, instead of computing the SC current to be interrupted, we
compute three-phase SC MVA to be interrupted, where
SC MVA (3-phase) = √3 x prefault line voltage in kV x SC
current in KA.
If voltage and current are in per unit values on a three-phase basis
SC MVA (3-phase) = |V|prefault x |I|SC x (MVA)Base (9.17)
Obviously, rated MVA interrupting capacity of a circuit breaker is to
be more than (or equal to) the SC MVA required to be interrupted.
For the Selection of Circuit Breaker for a particular location, we must
find the maximum possible SC MVA to be interrupted with respect to
type and location of fault and generating capacity (also synchronous
motor load) connected to the system.
A three-phase fault though rare is generally the one which gives the
highest SC MVA and a circuit breaker must be capable of
interrupting it. An exception is an LG (line-to-ground) fault close to a
synchronous generator. In a simple system the fault location which
gives the highest SC MVA may be obvious but in a large system
various possible locations must be tried out to obtain the highest SC
MVA requiring repeated SC computations.
Circuit Breaker Rating Calculation For Single Phase
In a single-phase, I will show you how to calculate a current rating for
the circuit breaker for both lighting circuits and heating circuits. What
are the lighting circuit and heating circuit? The lighting loads means
fans, lights, TV which are connected to lighting circuit and for the
heating circuit, heaters, washing machines, etc are connected.
The appliances which consume more power are connected to the
heating circuit. For the heating circuit, a separate circuit is made.
For Lighting Circuit
Assume, your house has some loads like four tube lights of 40 watts,
two ceiling fans of 80 watts, and some other loads consider 400 watts.
Now first calculate the total connected load of the house. We will
ignore the power factor, you can also consider the power factor as 0.8,
but I will ignore the power factor.
Total load = (4*40) + (2*80) + 400 = 160 + 160 + 400 = 720 watts.
Single-phase voltage = 230 volts
The factor of safety = 1.25 ( For future demand)
Current = Total load / Voltage
= 720 / 230 = 3.13 Amps * 1.25 (safety)
= 3.9125 Amps
The circuit breaker rating to be used is 5 amps because 3.9125 amps
circuit breaker is not available in the market. For lighting circuit, 5
amps circuit breaker is to be used.
For Heating Circuit
Assume, your house has some loads like heater(1000 watts), washing
machine(1000 watts), fridge(1000 watts), etc which are connected to
the heating circuit. Now first calculate the total connected load of the
house.
Total load = 1000 + 1000 + 1000 = 3000 watts.
Single-phase voltage = 230 volts
The factor of safety = 1.25 ( For future demand)
Current = Total load / Voltage
= 3000 / 230 = 13,04 Amps * 1.25
= 16.30 Amps
The circuit breaker for the heating circuit should be of 16 Amps rating.
The 16 Amps circuit breaker is available in the market.
Circuit Breaker Rating Calculation For Three Phase
Everything is the same only the formula for three-phase is different. P
= Root three * V * I.
Total load = 40 KW
Power Factor = 0.8
Voltage = 440 volts
Convert KW to KVA.
KVA = KW / pf = (40 * 1000) / 0.8
= 50 KVA
Current = Connected load / ( Root Three * Voltage)
= 50,000 / ( 1.73 * 440) = 65.68 Amps
Current = 65.68 * 1.25 (factor of safety)
= 82.1 Amps
Therefore, the circuit breaker of 100 Amps should be used because
82.1 Amps circuit breaker is not available in the market.
I hope this article may help you all a lot. Thank you for reading.
Tags: Circuit Breaker Rating Calculation, How To Find Proper
Circuit Breaker, What Is Circuit Breaker.
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